MWC: GSMA Moves Forward with VoLTE Initiative

The organization that hosts the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the GSMA, announced plans to continue the work of the One Voice Initiative under the banner of Voice over LTE, or VoLTE.

The GSMA, the association of mobile operators and related companies that
organizes the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, announced it
has adopted the work of the One Voice Initiative, which uses current open
standards to define the minimum mandatory set of functionality for
interoperable IMS-based voice and SMS over Long Term Evolution (LTE), a beyond
third-generation mobile broadband standard. The new initiative will be known as
Voice over LTE (VoLTE).
The One Voice Initiative is a collaboration among AT&T, Orange,
Telef??nica, TeliaSonera, Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson,
Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

The GSMA's VoLTE initiative has the backing of more than 40 organizations
from across the mobile ecosystem, including many of the world's leading mobile
operators, handset manufacturers and equipment vendors, all of whom support the
principle of a single, IMS (IP multimedia subsystem)-based voice solution for
next-generation mobile broadband networks. The GSMA will also lead the
development of the specifications that will enable interconnection and
international roaming between LTE networks, and will complete that work by the
first quarter of 2011.

"The GSMA recognizes the importance of a single, industrywide solution for
voice over LTE, and by adopting the work of the One Voice Initiative, we will
advance the creation of a global, next-generation wireless ecosystem," said
Alex Sinclair, chief technology and strategy officer at the GSMA. "With the
support of the world's leading players in mobile, VoLTE will generate economies
of scale similar to those provided through the ubiquitous availability of
GSM-based networks and devices. As mobile operators begin to deploy LTE, it is
essential their networks are aligned around one, common standard for voice and
messaging services, for the benefit of the mobile industry and consumers
alike."
The GSMA said for LTE to support voice and messaging, an IP-based solution
that will offer the same interoperable and seamless experience that 2G and 3G
wireless technologies offer today is required. The organization said it
believes an IMS can achieve this, and supports all voice call service features
such as call waiting, call hold and call barring. It is also highly scalable to
serve very large subscriber bases.
TeliaSonera launched the world's first commercial LTE network recently in Sweden,
with Verizon Wireless in the United States,
NTT DoCoMo in Japan
and China Telecom set to follow suit in 2010. China Mobile also plans to launch
its TD-LTE network this year at Expo 2010 in Shanghai,
the GSMA reported.
"Telefonica plans to deploy LTE to provide an improved mobile broadband
service for our customers," said Vicente San Miguel, CTO
of network operator Telef??nica. "It is vital that we also deliver a high-quality
voice and messaging service that provides the full global interconnection and
roaming that we enjoy on our current 2G and 3G networks. Telef??nica has led the
work with the GSMA on VoLTE, and we strongly support this initiative to drive a
common voice and messaging solution for the mobile industry, as it is a key
enabler for the success of LTE."

Nathan Eddy is Associate Editor, Midmarket, at eWEEK.com. Before joining eWEEK.com, Nate was a writer with ChannelWeb and he served as an editor at FierceMarkets. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.